The Little World

I am always a little daunted when I see a paint call-out that calls for different shades of grey…I am never certain whether they should be gray. The only thing about which I can be certain is that I will pick the wrong one.

No, I’m wrong – the second thing I am certain of is the right colour will be nearly all used up in the bottle and I’ll need to sprint to Hobbyhell to get another one.

The advent of FS numbers to differentiate the greys has been a help – though it would be more so if the manufacturers actually used the correct shades for the numbers. There is room for artistic licence, but you need to get it renewed at the Department…

The best grey is the undercoat – it seems to go on with no arguments. And sometimes it is near as damn-it to what they want for a top coat. I do confess to leaving one aircraft with the undercoat showing and have been proud of it.

The US Navy went to greys and whites from their earlier dark blues – and I daresay they have gone on to misty camo schemes since. I rejoice at white as it is easy to do with either Mr. Color rattle can or the equivalent bottle. I do not know if it is exact shade that the navy demands, but I also do not care. It shows hydraulic stains and dirt very well in the wheel wells.

Note the simple but effective cockpit Italeri provide. The folded brass fanatics will sniff at it, but that’s just because it is cold weather.